1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an approach of predicting a paint film thickness of an actual car, which is formed by the electrodeposition coating, without the execution of electrodeposition coating analysis on the vehicle model base, particularly to make it possible to predict a paint film thickness of an actual car without the execution of electrodeposition coating analysis on the vehicle model base, and to make it possible to calculate effectively a paint film thickness of an actual car by achieving reduction in an amount of operation required for the prediction of the paint film thickness of the actual car.
2. Description of the Related Art
The electrodeposition coating is such a coating method that utilizes the electrophoresis phenomenon of the polyelectrolyte, the electrodialysis phenomenon, etc. Since this coating can cause the paint film to adhere uniformly to surface of the coated object and is excellent in the anticorrosion property, such coating is used widely as the undercoating of various members such as the vehicle body, parts. From viewpoints of rust preventing measure, reduction in the paint consumption, lighter weight of the members, etc., it is an important design subject to suppress a paint film thickness, which has adhered to the surface of the member by the electrodeposition coating, within a predetermined range. Therefore, it becomes important to analyze and study the paint film separation state by electrodeposition coating analysis. In the prior art, the paint film thickness of the actual car is predicted/evaluated by executing the electrodeposition coating analysis while using the vehicle model whose vehicle shape is expressed by meshes.
However, if the electrodeposition coating analysis is to be executed on the vehicle model base, first the analyzing mesh that expresses shapes of individual members in the vehicle by the meshes must be generated. For example, vehicle meshes of the overall actual car containing all members are generated by superposing/extending the member meshes, which express shapes of individual members in the vehicle by the meshes, to the overall vehicle. In this case, since the member meshes are overlapped with each other on the overall vehicle, the number of meshes in complicated vehicle meshes is increased enormously. Also, an amount of computation required for the electrodeposition coating analysis of the overall vehicle becomes enormous. Therefore, in order to execute the mesh generation and analysis effectively, the high processing ability is required of the computer. However, since the processing abilities of the personal computers that are spread normally have their limitation, it takes much time to generate the analyzing meshes of the vehicle model or to predict an amount of paint film on the vehicle base.
The present invention has been made in light of such circumstances and it is an object of the present invention to make it possible to predict a paint film thickness of an actual car without the execution of electrodeposition coating analysis on the vehicle model base.
Also, it is another object of the present invention to make it possible to calculate effectively a paint film thickness of an actual car by achieving reduction in an amount of operation required for the prediction of the paint film thickness of the actual car.
In order to overcome such subject, a first aspect of the present invention provides a paint film thickness predicting method for an actual car, which predicts a paint film thickness of an object car in an actual car state, an electrodeposition coating being applied to the object car by using an electrodeposition coating line, having a calculating an analyzed value of the paint film thickness of a constituent member constituting a part of the object car by executing electrodeposition coating analysis by using a computer, the constituent member being employed as an analyzed object in the electrodeposition coating analysis, and a predicting the paint film thickness of the object car in the actual car state from the analyzed value of the paint film thickness by the computer based on a previously-prepared correlation predicting expression, wherein the correlation predicting expression stipulates a correlation between the paint film thickness of a mass-produced car, to which the electrodeposition coating has already been applied in an electrodeposition coating line by which the electrodeposition coating is applied to the object car, in the actual car state and an analyzed value of the paint film thickness of the constituent member, which is obtained by the electrodeposition coating analysis that is applied to the constituent member constituting a part of the mass-produced car as the analyzed object. At that time, it is preferable that the constituent member constituting a part of the mass-produced car is same as the constituent member constituting apart of the object car, improvement in the prediction precision of the paint film thickness can be achieved.
Here, in the above calculating, a function using at least the analyzed value of the paint film thickness of the constituent member as an input variable may be employed as the correlation predicting expression. Also, in the predicting, a neural network using at least the analyzed value of the paint film thickness of the constituent member as an input variable may be employed as the correlation predicting expression.
Also, it is preferable that the predicting further comprises an executing correction of the paint film thickness of the object car, which was calculated based on the correlation predicting expression, in the actual car state under consideration of electrodeposition equipment conditions or electrodeposition solution characteristics.
In this case, it is desired that the executing correction is executed by using a neural network that employs at least the electrodeposition equipment conditions or the electrodeposition solution characteristics as the input variable.
Also, it is preferable that the calculating includes,
a generating analysis meshes of the constituent member, and an applying a process preventing an electrodeposition solution from entering from an outside to the analysis meshes.
A second aspect of the present invention provides a paint film thickness predicting system for an actual car, which predicts a paint film thickness of an object car in an actual car state, an electrodeposition coating being applied to the object car by using an electrodeposition coating line, having a memory device for storing a correlation predicting expression that stipulates a correlation between the paint film thickness of a mass-produced car, to which the electrodeposition coating has already been applied in an electrodeposition coating line by which the electrodeposition coating is applied to the object car, in the actual car state and an analyzed value of the paint film thickness of the constituent member, which is obtained by electrodeposition coating analysis that is applied to the constituent member constituting a part of the mass-produced car as the analyzed object, and a computer for calculating an analyzed value of the paint film thickness of a constituent member constituting a part of the object car by executing the electrodeposition coating analysis, in which the constituent member is employed as an analyzed object, and then predicting the paint film thickness of the object car in the actual car state from the analyzed value of the paint film thickness based on the correlation predicting expression. At that time, if the constituent member constituting a part of the mass-produced car is same as the constituent member constituting a part of the object car, improvement in the prediction precision of the paint film thickness can be achieved.
A third aspect of the present invention provides a recording medium for recording a program that causes a computer to execute a paint film thickness predicting method for an actual car, which predicts a paint film thickness of an object car in an actual car state, an electrodeposition coating being applied by using an electrodeposition coating line, the paint film thickness predicting method for an actual car, having a calculating an analyzed value of the paint film thickness of a constituent member constituting a part of the object car by executing electrodeposition coating analysis by using the computer, the constituent member being employed as an analyzed object in the electrodeposition coating analysis, and a predicting the paint film thickness of the object car in the actual car state from the analyzed value of the paint film thickness by the computer based on a previously-prepared correlation predicting expression, wherein the correlation predicting expression stipulates a correlation between the paint film thickness of a mass-produced car, to which the electrodeposition coating has already been applied in an electrodeposition coating line by which the electrodeposition coating is applied to the object car, in the actual car state and an analyzed value of the paint film thickness of the constituent member, which is obtained by the electrodeposition coating analysis that is applied to the constituent member constituting a part of the mass-produced car as the analyzed object. At that time, if the constituent member constituting a part of the mass-produced car is same as the constituent member constituting a part of the object car, improvement in the prediction precision of the paint film thickness can be achieved.